Paramount’s Scream franchise has been thrown into further disarray with the departure of Scream 7 director Christopher Landon.
On Twitter, the director explained that he left the project “weeks ago,” and candidly called it “a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on.” Landon, who previously helmed the Happy Death Day duology and Freaky, was tapped to direct back in early August, taking over directorial duties from previous helmers Radio Silence (aka Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett).
Scream 7 has been hit with controversy as 2023 has come to a close. Back in November over a full month ago, Paramount and Spyglass fired Melissa Barrera, who played the co-lead Sam Carpenter for Scream 5 and Scream 6. At the time, her firing was said to be because of her pro-Palestinian comments referencing the Israel-Hamas war. Not long after, fellow co-lead Jenna Ortega—who plays Sam’s sister, Tara—exited the film. Ortega’s exit was reportedly incited by scheduling conflicts between this and the second season of Netflix’s Wednesday, but the timing of this news was…more than a little odd, considering.
With both women out of the picture, reports indicated that Scream VII would now pivot from their characters. The alleged aim is to bring back series mainstays Courtney Cox (who appeared in the last two movies), Neve Campbell (backed out of Scream 6 due to pay disputes), and Patrick Dempsey, who joined the series with Scream 3. At time of writing, it’s not clear if any of the three have returned, and it’s equally unclear what’ll happen with the soft reboot’s other two leads, Jasmine Savoy-Brown and Mason Gooding, who play twins Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin.
In his brief post, Landon gave his well wishes to those still working on Scream 7, saying he hopes the legacy of original director Wes Craven continues and “lifts above the din of a divided world. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.”
io9 reached out to Spyglass for comment, and will update this story when a response is given.
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